Hello,

I have accelerated the cloning process for this board as some B708 ST owners met issues with their board , showing miscellaneous failure due to aging.

New Board will show :

- PCB Epoxy FR4 (Blue or Green) , dual lay , metallized holes (better strenght during soldering), varnish coated , white screen painted labels and components, Top Notch Quality !!.
- Fine adjustment speed Trimmers , repositionned for a better access.
- Re engineered tracks network.
- Clipped on CS140
- 3 witness LED added to monitor power voltages (12V, 24V, 42V)

Only 15 Boards will be producted and will be proposed at a very nice price for 50 Euros (CS140 and shipping not included)
However , I 'll need former board(s) to pick up original E5, E7 & E8 Connectors and rectifiers to reinstall on new board.
Canibalized former board will be returned with new board.

This is a nice cure of yought for your venerable Beaulieu !!

Beaulieu's owners interested can send me a message to book their board.

Kind Regards
Phil

Virtual picture of new board

Message sent Phil, thanks .

Email sent to you Phil...thank you...

Hello,

Test Board almost achieved : Trimmers temporarily installed, cms components (LED) not installed yet, Aluminium spacers missing, etc...

Connectors , Rectifiers , one L200C , picked up from a former board .....

Initial evaluation :Tested in a machine (not fine adjusted)



Around 2 days labour are necessary to build a board

Still waiting for some components from China from few weeks.

To Follow......................

NB :
I am testing MC140 picking up : If satisfactory and providing a sain original board is sent to me, I should be in position to return a plate ready to fit in a Beaulieu machine.

All things considered, Phil really does deserve high praise for this new control board for the beaulieu. This is long gone from the stock in Wittners stores, and the cost would by there standards be extortionate. Although a favourite of many with high praise from some forum members, this task taken on by Phil is why anyone who has one, should be behind this guy 200%, because if it goes wrong, you may have a long trek to find someone fix it, or wants too, given its age.

This must be a great help for all owners of the Beaulies. Unfortunatly i am not at all electronically mined but thank you for putting this on. I enjoy reading all technical items for all of our cine projectors on all gauges.

Hello,
Tom and Paul, thanks for your nice comments, well appreciated.

So, this is a "step by step" project.
Already Done :
1) Re engineering of former board to incorporate some modifications (Witness LED's added, Tracks network reshaped, etc....)
2) Picking up process for necessary components as connectors , and now CS140 chip. (Rectifiers picking up will be optional)
Picking up CS140 on owners board will be done only if good condition.
3) Initial Testing : To insure there is no major defect.

To Be Done:
4) Fine adjustment and Test with "Frequencemeter" device to insure board steadiness is satisfactory.
5) Making a simple and "easy to use" document to install SAFELY new board; taking account of some specific point(s) to prevent customer from damaging it during installation.
I notice some projectors have been (more or less) modified by different owners. Exemple : some Amp wires were directly soldered on the board . Mine is conformed to original configuration and needs classical Faston 3mm connectors . In that case , some spares connectors will be supplied with board. However , customer will need a good crimping tool to fit new connectors (3) in his machine ....Etc...Etc.
New board will come as a full kit :
- 3 Faston Connectors
- A Spare Bulb (12V, 40mA, 3x8mm) for Sensor Box
- TO220 insulation kit (Micas shim plus nylon Bushing) for BD646 transistor (Very, Very important)
As Paul mentionned , not sure this board is still available as new and what about the price ...............
Anyway , even you buy a genuine "New" part , this is an old stock showing 19 capacitors , 40 years old.......

To Follow....

Absolutely fascinating Philip,for anyone who has a Beaulieu you must be a godsend.

I wish I was at this level. I have dead audio on my Elmo 16CL myself, and I must try to find out what's going on. Making new boards like this is at a separate level of skills. Fantastic!

Is it the modern version Eivind of the cl, as there are quite a few models. I remember someone on here having this problem, just can't remember who it was. Is it taking out the amp fuse at all....

I have had this problem for about a year, just not got around to fix it using another 16mm projector and much Super 8.

The fuses are not broken. The lamp is on, but there is no audio. It could have been me writing about this a year ago. I will give it a try again this summer when the vacation starts.

Hello Eivind,

Thanks for your comments.
When I was back to Super 8, 5 years ago, I was a beginner too in Electronic with minimum knowledges (as U= Ri, etc....).
I took a lot of advices from a French Forum (Le Transfert de Pellicule) and more particularly from J-C and Leon who are excellent Electronic Engineers who are working on it at a high level.
So, patiently, I come into some projects as this one above decribed.
If you get some tools (for few money) like a good Electronic Soldering iron, a Desoldering Pump, a good Multimeter , etc... , and a bit of patience, you can manage this trouble shooting.
Even , in case you need an Oscilloscope or something like that, you can find what you need for few money now (often time below 100 Euros).....
You will always find somebody to guide you.
I don't know Elmo 16CL , however first thing to get is the Schema.
Generaly , Amps are showing 2 main sections :
-Pre-Amp
-Power Amp
Just a simple idea, if Vu Meter (if installed) shows a usual fluctuation, Final stage Power Amp could be faulty.
Output Transistor (a big one, may be a "Darlington" or equivalent, depending on machine age) do not like to be short circuited or overheated. Generally they are not protected . Also pay particular attention to big capacitors around it which could be root of the issue.
This Transistor (single as this is a mono sound machine) is quite easy to find as it is probably fitted on aluminium case of your machine or on a Heat sink.
You can find on the net the way to test Diodes, Transistors , etc with a multimeter : If interested , I have something in French language (anyway easy to translate) including sketches to help.

Let us know

Kind Regards

Phil

Thanks for your great advice! I will get back to this post when I get time to sit down with this problem. I have a good soldering iron. I invested in that a few years ago. I suddenly felt good at soldering after being a failure with a cheap one :-) I also have a pump and a decent multimeter. I have no oscilloscope, and bo experience with it either. You got me inspired to look into this problem soon! :-)

Hello,

Here is Test Board in its final configuration :

- 3 Red Witness LED's (One led for each power supply, 1 for Regulation, 2 for Amplifier Stages)

- Trim Pots , fine adjustment style , allow an easier acces when speed adjustment is necessary while projector is running ( No chance to interfer with Shutter Blades during speed adjustment)



Each LED has its own label (White marking on Board , enlarge picture as necessary) :

"REG" for Regulation Power
"PRE-AMP" For Pre-Amp Power
"AMP" For Amp Power Last stage (Output)

Project is on "idle" untill end of August

Another great contribution from Phil....We will be looking forward to the next step for the Beaulieu 708 Stereo board after the "idle" time break...
BTW, I have installed the GS-1200 Motor board that Phil has previously put together and it works perfectly....
Many thanks to Phil and his friends for doing this type of work on behalf of us projector owners---

Hello Greg,

Many thanks for your nice comments.

Once Back at the end of August, I will start a small production for some Beaulieu's Boards.
It take time as I build all these boards patiently and carefully alone. Only nude boards are subcontracted.
Some boards are already booked.

Initial configuration BD646 (Main Motor Power transistor) seems to be diectly interchangeable (without needs to carry out electrical modifications) with BD648 which can work up to 100V. (BD646 is rated for 60V).
If this is confirmed , new boards will come with BD648 Power Transistors.



Also, In a same time I have already a set of Elmo's Board in production (Built up to 70% for the moment) for Elmo's Owners who have Booked them.

To follow

Phil, i think you will be in very high demand. Clearly a work of love and also great skill.

Hi Tom,

Thanks for your nice comments.

Unfortunately, very few will be available , something like 15 boards around.......

Hello,

I have just released a 9 Pages document (Power Point) to introduce and analyse Beaulieu 708EL régulation .

This document will be sent as a Bonus to Beaulieu 708EL's Owners who have booked a New card ONLY .

Here is a "short" extract of this Introduction:

Hello Greg,

Thanks a lot for your feed back !!!

Taking account your comments I update document and will send it modified soon .

Anyway I have planned to include a T/S guide chapter and a practical procedure to adjust speeds . This will take some labour days more

Keeping in touch, I 'll be back soon ......

Hello Beaulieu's fan,

A long time ago I have initiated this project.
The most chalenging aspect was managing the connectors which are obsolete references and highly difficult to find.

So I decided to experience "3D printing" cloning. Now I am waiting for prototype connectors and , if satisfactory , I will follow up boards production.

I had to rushly learn "3D" design to achieve a usable drawing for production at a good accuracy.
To tell you the truth, I love "3D" design at the end, this is an addictive hobby !!!

An other thing : New connectors will be a bit reinforced , showing stronger pins

The aim is to offer a board ready to fit with no need to pick up former connectors. Of course , price of the board will increase a bit , but stay highly reasonnable .

Cross fingers.

Phil

I dont own a Beaulie projector myself, but very well done for your persistence in helping to produce parts for these machines. I hope owners of these machines are equally pleased and support you.
3D printing is becoming more popular and no doubt huge improvements in the printers and the materials used will produce better quality parts.

Well done Phil, mine is on order, fantastic effort on you're part

It's good to here your still on the case Phil, will be definitely be purchasing one of these. Just wondered if you could have made a female to male inline plug to fit the out of date sockets on the beaulieu, i think we searched the globe at the time, with something close, but not close enough. I would happy to chop the plug off, and fit a computer type plug, there must be millions on them around, its not carrying high voltage after all is it ?. As for the 3 D route, its the way to go, as i tried explain to one well known member of the other forum some time ago, he just dismissed the idea, a man with no future foresight right there, i wonder if he knows they 3D print metal exhaust systems for formula one racing cars...... Let me know Phil if can help in any way.......... Great work as always Phil.

Hello Friends

Many thanks for your support !!

Paul I confirm you that new board is directly interchangeable * with former one. That means there is nothing to modify on existing Male plugs wired inside Beaulieu machine.............. you will just have to plug and play !!
Of course it is possible to upgrade Male/Female connectors assemblies (for modern ones) in the machine. This is a long job , around 26 wires to cut and crimp on new connectors from your choice. Current which crosses connectors is below 1A and below 15V.
Also remember when connectors upgrade is done, you can not intermix your new board with an other conventional machine....
Anyway , I will do some tests with the new board and its cloned connectors to insure electrical contacts are satisfactory.

You are right that "3D printing production" is magic and is the way for the future , more particularly when special former plastic parts become obsolete.

I have an eye on 3D Metal printing too. Unfortunately , prices seem to be very high for the time , anyway this technology is growing up.

I have a list of Beaulieu's owners who are interested in this project. So far I remember , Paul was the first to need one .

* Providing machine has not been modified outside the original standards.

Keep in touch


NB
Some collectors are doing a lot to keep this hobby alive.
Just to congratulate "Eivind and his friends" too for the work achieved for Super 8 Database, its a labour of patience and very helpfull.

Thanks for your nice words Tom !!
To tell you the truth, I have not communicated a lot on this project, as a few boards will be available only. So far I remember , I only developped the idea in this Forum and in a French Forum too.....
Some owners have no CS140 I/C in spare and my CS140 stock is very, very limited......
I will do all my possible.